Eastbourne Eagles crashed to a shock 56-34 defeat in Friday night's Elite League speedway match at Peterborough.

The revamped Eagles side were overrun by the Panthers, who won 11 of the 15 races and notched five 5-1 heat wins.

And that was despite the home side losing guest rider David Howe, who was taken to hospital with leg injuries after crashing into the fence in his first ride.

The result was a serious blow to the Sussex club's hopes of launching a late bid for the league title via the play-offs.

New signing Nicki Pedersen was again Eastbourne's top scorer with 12 points, which included two wins, but even he was comprehensively outgunned twice in the last three races by Ryan Sullivan and Piotr Protasiewicz.

Sullivan was the Panthers star, roaring to a 15-point maximum despite riding with a broken bone in his back.

Protasiewicz dropped only one point to an opponent, and so did former Eastbourne captain Gary Havelock, whose lone defeat in four rides was at the hands of Pedersen.

Mark Loram, back this week after three months out with a broken arm, struggled to pick up six points from five attempts.

Dean Barker finished with paid ten points, but David Norris, Adam Shields and Joonas Kylmakorpi picked up just six points between them.

The visitors managed only two heat advantages all night, bith as a result of tactical substitutes.

Barker and Pedersen got a 5-1 and Norris and Loram a 4-2.

Peterborough: Ryan Sullivan 15, Piotr Protasiewicz 11, Gary Havelock 11, Shane Parker 9, Kenneth Bjerre 8, Chris Harris 2, David Howe 0.

Eastbourne: Nicki Pedersen 12, Dean Barker 9, Mark Loram 6, David Norris 4, Adam Shields 2, Scott Robson 1, Joonas Kylmakorpi 0.